In the second week of April 2020, the Income-tax department asked taxpayers to keep their e-filing account safe, and the Income-tax department along with CIBIC asked taxpayers to beware of phishing attacks in which emails will be received regarding a refund. A phishing attack is not the only thing to concern in this situation, GST Network which handles all the technical part of Good and Service Tax also cautioned taxpayers against a fraud website onlinefilingindia.in and also asked taxpayers to not reveal sensitive information such as personal and Bank details.
GSTN through their official twitter account posted “BEWARE of FRAUD website onlinefilingindia.in. It is trying to BAIT taxpayers to reveal personal and bank details. DO NOT respond to messages, emails, and lookalike websites that ask for your personal details,”. They also said that some fraudulent messages are also being spread on WhatsApp, SMS, and Email claiming to process a refund. GSTN Further tweeted “Miscreants are attempting to take undue advantage of COVID-19 crisis by sending out fake messages with phishing links. One such link takes to a portal claimed to have been developed by GSTN. the same is fake,”. They also added that Fraudsters can also claim themselves as tax or GST Network(GSTN) officials 
In the same matter, GSTN also released a list of Do-s and Don’t and also asked taxpayers to call 1800-103-4786 for any query and reporting. The tax department tweeted earlier on Sunday that “Taxpayers Beware! Please do not click on any fake link which promises to give a refund. These are phishing messages and are not sent by the Income Tax Department”.
Read Also: Alert ITR Filers! Cyber Criminals are Eyeing To Steal
After GSTN and IT department, the CBIC which stands for the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs also tweeted in the late evening and asked people not to click on any link which promises to provide a refund. It further added that “These are phishing messages and are not sent by CBIC or @Infosys_GSTN. Visit gst.gov.in for online filings related to GST,”. On April 8, 2020, the Financial Ministry announced that it will issue the pending Income Tax refunds up to Rs. 5 Lakh as soon as possible that will provide benefit to around 14 Lakh taxpayers. This step was taken in the view to provide relief to taxpayers whether individuals or businesses hit by Coronavirus outbreak.
Some recent report also states that in between 8 April to 20 April, the department had released nearly 14 lakh refunds which involved amounts over 9,000 crores to taxpayers including individuals, HUF, start-ups, Proprietors, corporates, firms, and MSMEs. In between April 8 to 23, the CBIC also released refunds worth more than Rs 10,700 crore in GST and Customs duty. The ministry also has decided to release all the pending GST and Customs refunds to provide benefits to around 1 lakh business houses including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) 
